Railway-spike



(No Model.)- I' A i R. S. MERRILL.

RAILWAY SPIKE.

No. 427,436. Patented May 6, 1890.

UNITED STATES iPATnNT Ormes.

RUFUS S. MERRILL, OF IVAKEFIELD, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOSHUA MERRILL,O F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

RAI LWAY-SPI KE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 427,436, dated May 6,1890.

Application filed February 20, 1890. Serial No. 341,183. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, RUFUs S. MERRILL, of VVakelield, in the county ofMiddlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and ImprovedRailway-Spike, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to produce a rail way-spike which shallhave great strength, which can be easily driven, which cannot be 1odrawn or loosened by the constant jars to which it necessarily issubjected when in use, and which will have great capacity to resist thelateral thrusts that come upon it when it is used, for example, onrailway-curves and in like localities. A spike embodying a constructionpossessing` these advantages is illustratcd in the accompanyingdrawings, forining part ot this specification, wherein- Figure l is aperspective View. Fig. 2 is a cross-section, and Fig. 3 is alongitudinal central section, ot" said spike. Fig. 4: is a view of amodified form of spike hereinafter more particularly referred to.

The spike is one which has a broad body of comparatively littlethickness. Its sides a are parallel with each other and its front andrear faces b c are also parallel with each other, so that there is notaper in the shank of the spike. This construction renders it mostdifficult to be drawn after it once has been driven. In the rear orouter face c of the spike-shank, by which I intend the face oppositethat from which the head of the spike projects, is formed a longitudinalgroove or recess d, which extends from the point,or what in an ordinaryspike would be the point, of the spike toward the other end, terminatingabout halt' an inch or so below the line to which the spike is usuallydriven into the cross-tie or stringer. At this point the groove orrecess terminates in a bevel d. This groove leaves the sides a of thespike as longitudinal and parallel ribs. The groove or recess is of thesame depth throughout, so that its bottom will be in substantialparallelism with the improved front face c of the spike-shank. The shankat thepoint end of the groove, as well as at the point end oit the tworibs c, (as they may be called,) ,is finished with a chiseledge, thebevel being from within the groove outward. y

IVhen the spike is driven, it usually enters the wood as far as thedotted line a: o5, Fig. l, on the unrecessed portion of the shank.

This spike possesses great strength and stability, as well as capacityto resist outward strain that may come upon it. It enters the wood withcomparative ease, its chisel-edge, which is on the lower edge of boththe broad face and each ot the two side ribs a of the spike, (the latterbounding and standing at right angles to the cutting-edge on broadfaee,) facilitating the driving of the spike and cutting a clean waywithout crushing or tearing or bunching the fibers. The substantialparallelism ot all of the opposite faces of the spike-shank affords anexten ded surface for a frietional hold on the wood, whch is notweakened by the partial drawing of the spike, as in the case of atapered shank, and while the spike is exceedingly stili, yet it hascomparatively less metal in it than the usual spike.

The only difference between the spike illustrated in Figs. l, 2, and 3and that illustrated in Fig. 4 is that in thelatter the shank above thepoint where the recess or groove terminates is made broader, so as tohave on each side a lateral wing c, which extends beyond the side of themain portion of the shank below. These wings at their lower endsterminate in a bevel e', slan ting from front to rear and similar to thebevel d. The head of the spike is made correspondingly broader also. Theobject of-this modiiication is to give increased capacity tothe spike toresist thrusts uponit by the rail.

IIaving described my invention, I would state that I do not claim,broadly, a spike which is longitudinally grooved upon one of its faces,nor do I claim, broadly, a spike which is ot considerable width orbreadth and of comparatively little thickness. In either one of thekinds of spike referred to, however, the

shank, so far as I am aware, has been of the usual taper term.

Vhat I claim, and desire to secure by Let ters Patent, is-a l. Theherein-described spike, having a broad but comparatively thin shank,with parallel sides and front and rear faces, provided in its outer facefor a portion of its length from its front end with a recess or grooved,

IOO

of substantially the same depth throughout, end of the bottom and sidesof the groove, which forms the sides of the spike into ribs and lateralWings e With beveled lower edges a, and provided at its front end with aohisele', as and for the purposes hereinbefore set edge on the broadface and side ribs of the forth.

5 groove, substantially as and for the purposes In testimony whereof Ihave hereunto set 15 hereinbefore set forth. my hand this 17th day ofFebruary, 1890.

2. A railway-spike having abroad but com- RUFUS S. MERRILL. paratvelythin shank formed with parallel Vitnesses: faces b c, a groove d, ofsubstantially the same EWELL A. DICK, To depth throughout, a chisel-edgeon the outer WILLIAM II. SHIPLEY.

